A New Year (or Birthday or Anniversary) Spread

As December flew by (it goes faster every year, I swear!) I resolved I would actually do my New Year spread within a week of the new year.  I made it!  We did the layout at the December meeting of Tarot House San Francisco, and then I actually did the card-by-card analysis on New Year’s Eve and the night of January 1.  Nothing like reading cards in front of the fire, the room filled with candles and incense, and The Medieval Babes singing to keep one company!

The spread is one I created many years ago, and have adapted over the years as my approach to the coming year – and life in general – has changed.

(The cards are laid out in a line of three across the bottom, topped by a circle of 12 cards, and the final card in the center. The diagram is a bit squished, but I’m certain you can picture it in your imagination. If not, you can download the worksheet for Anastasia’s New Year’s Spread.)

Card  1 represents what to leave behind with the old year.

Card 2 represents what to carry over into the new year.

Card 3 represents what to embrace in the new year.

Cards 4 – 15 represent the months of the year, starting with January.

Card 16 represents the summary of the year.

I used Alexandra Genetti‘s Wheel of  Change Tarot for this spread.  I ended up with 2 Majors, 2 Cups, 3 Wands, 2 Swords, and 7 Disks. Not bad – 7 Disk cards going into an Emperor year!

I pulled the companion book and read about the cards. Even though I’ve been working with this deck for years, I thought it would be interesting to actually re-read Alexandra’s ideas and her meanings. I’m glad I did!  It was helpful and refreshed my work with the deck.

What to Leave Behind: The Three of Disks – a very busy card with many ants working very hard.  What this suggested to me is to stop doing so much – stop being overwhelmed by busy-ness – let go of the excess “doing” and hyperactivity of 201o.  And just get some sleep!

What to Carry Over: The Princess of Wands – an image of a young girl using her magic to create her life.   What I do want to carry over is the magical aspects of the old year, including the many synchronous and perfect connections I made last year.

What to Embrace: The Ace of Swords,reversed – a sword is suspended in midair, surrounded by lightning, meteors, and all kinds of electrical energy.  What this suggests to me is to deepen my thinking on the important items, and to use the prior year’s successes as a foundation for work in the new year.

The fabulous Charlie London suggested moving the first three cards – What to Leave Behind, What to Carry Over, What to Embrace – throughout the year, using the energies along with the energy of the card for that particular month.  This adds even more depth to an already very chewy reading!

The really interesting month seems to be May – I pulled the Magician for that month.  This will definitely be a month to combine the Wands and Sword energy and make things happen!

The other Major Arcana turned up in space #16 – the summary of the year was Temperance, reversed.  I think this is going to be a year of taking calculated risks and meeting challenges in new and interesting ways!